Guyana Harpy Eagles depart to Antigua for West Indies Championship

 – Assistant Coach pleased with mixture in squad

By Brandon Corlette

The Guyana Harpy Eagles departed Guyanese shores on Sunday morning for Antigua for the upcoming West Indies championships, the regional Four-Day tournament.
Guyana will open their 2023 season against Barbados Pride at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium.

Team Guyana will be led by Leon Johnson, and Veerasammy Permaul will be performing the role of Vice Captain. According to Assistant Coach of the Guyana Harpy Eagles team, Garvin Nedd, the 13-member squad has a mixture of youth and experience.
“Team is mixed with youth and experience. We have the Captain, Leon Johnson; Anthony Bramble and those guys have been around a while,” Nedd said.
For the opening games this season, the Guyana side has four newcomers in Matthew Nandu, Shamar Joseph, Kemol Savory, and Ashmead Nedd. Coach Nedd is looking forward to the young players showing their worth at the First-Class level.
“With the selection of young Nandu, and Savory and the young [Tevin] Imlach in the team, those guys have been showing their worth, in terms of their skill-set. Hopefully, they can transfer that into the tournament,” Nedd said.
Fast bowler Nial Smith is expected to play a key role in this year’s tournament for Guyana Harpy Eagles, along with the experienced Ronsford Beaton. Coach Nedd disclosed that the new fast bowler, Joseph has a lot of energy, and he is looking forward to the youngster making that transition into the tournament.
“Shamar Joseph has shown some energy and he took wickets, so hopefully he can bring that to the tournament, and Beaton has been around, so his experience will be important,” Nedd explained.
The Guyana Harpy Eagles squad is: Leon Johnson (Captain); Veerasammy Permaul (Vice Captain); Chandrapaul Hemraj; Matthew Nandu; Kemol Savory; Tevin Imlach; Anthony Bramble; Kevin Sinclair; Nial Smith; Ronsford Beaton; Akshaya Persaud; Ashmead Nedd and Shamar Joseph. The Manager is Albert Clements; the Head Coach is Ryan Hercules; the Assistant Coach is Garvin Nedd; the Cricket Analyst is Keshava Ramphal, and the Physiotherapist is Angelica Holder.
In the opening round of these West Indies Championships, Guyana will play defending champions Barbados Pride from February 1 at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua.
Guyana will then play Windward Islands Volcanoes at the National Stadium in Grenada from February 8 in the second round of the tournament.

2023 West Indies Championship Match Schedule
All matches start at 10 am Eastern Caribbean time (9 am Jamaica time)
GNS – Grenada National Stadium, Grenada
SVRS – Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, Antigua
CCG – Coolidge Cricket Ground, Antigua
Round 1:
31 January to 3 February – Grenada
Windward Islands Volcanoes v Trinidad & Tobago Red Force at GNS
1 to 4 February – Antigua
Barbados Pride v Guyana Harpy Eagles at SVRS
Leeward Islands Hurricanes v Jamaica Scorpions at CCG
Round 2:
8 to 11 February – Grenada and Antigua
Windward Islands Volcanoes v Guyana Harpy Eagles at GNS
Leeward Islands Hurricanes v Trinidad and Tobago Red Force at SVRS
Jamaica Scorpions v Barbados Pride at CCG
Round 3:
15 to 18 March in Trinidad – Venues to be confirmed
Trinidad and Tobago Red Force v Guyana Harpy Eagles
Jamaica Scorpions v Windward Islands Volcanoes
Leeward Islands Hurricanes v Barbados Pride
Round 4:
22 to 25 March in Trinidad – Venues to be confirmed
Trinidad & Tobago Red Force v Barbados Pride
Guyana Harpy Eagles vs Jamaica Scorpions
Leeward Islands Hurricanes v Windward Islands Volcanoes
Round 5:
29 March to 1 April in Trinidad – Venues to be confirmed
Trinidad & Tobago Red Force v Jamaica Scorpions
Guyana Harpy Eagles v Leeward Islands Hurricanes
Barbados Pride v Windward Islands Volcanoes
Headley Weekes Tri-Series
All matches to be played at CCG, Antigua
Match 1: 19 to 22 April: Team Headley v West Indies Academy
Match 2: 26 to 29 April: Team Weekes v West Indies Academy
Match 3: 3 to 6 May: Team Weekes v Team Headley